While sewage continues to spill into the Pacific Ocean and impact miles of local shorelines, a new report published by San Diego State University’s (SDSU) School of Public Health found that these toxic chemicals do not remain isolated to the water— they can also be airborne and linger in soil.
The report, commissioned by the Prebys Foundation, was released on Feb. 13 and in it, local researchers highlight the environmental and public health concerns arising from the untreated waters.
Last year, The Coronado News published a five-part series that examined the decades of broken promises by U.S. and Mexican officials that have resulted in a polluted ocean and shuttered beaches in Coronado and Imperial Beach.
‘Dear Mr. President, We need your help’
During a virtual news press conference that included a panel of officials, community leaders and researchers on Feb. 13, this group emphasized the urgent need for an additional $310 million, included by President Biden in an emergency supplemental funding request for fiscal year 2024 last October.
Prebys Foundation CEO Grant Oliphant. Photo capture of press conference recording, courtesy of SDSU Media Relations. 
SDSU School of Public Health Associate Professor Paula Stigler Granados. Photo capture of press conference recording, courtesy of SDSU Media Relations. 
Rep. Scott Peters. Photo capture of press conference recording, courtesy of SDSU Media Relations. 
City of Imperial Beach Mayor Paloma Aguirre. Photo capture of press conference recording, courtesy of SDSU Media Relations.
“This environmental catastrophe has hurt the region for many years, resulting in decades of adverse health consequences,” Congressmember Scott Peters said in a statement following the conference. “We must approach it as a health and national security concern, which is why I asked the Prebys Foundation to help me build the case that this crisis goes far beyond beach closures; the people of South Bay now endure constant toxic air pollution that damages their health and well-being.”
Prior studies lead to SDSU report
In this report, which was months in the making, a team of eight researchers from SDSU reviewed more than 60 studies and assert that the ongoing sewage pollution resulting from untreated sewage, industrial waste, and urban run-off is causing an escalating public health crisis.
Over 170 different organic chemical compounds and inorganic elements are detected in the soil, and some of those soil based contaminants could become suspended in the air during weather events, said Paula Stigler Granados, associate professor in SDSU’s School of Public Health and the paper’s lead author.
“There is a potential for both short and long-term health risks associated with exposure, which really underscores the need for more comprehensive monitoring and research,” said Granados during the conference.
People who live and work nearby—like children, seniors, lifeguards, military personnel, border patrol officers and other at-risk populations—could be exposed to these contaminants through ingestion, inhalation and dermal contact, said Granados.
Exposure to these contaminants, which the report says also have significant harmful effects on wildlife, is what City of Imperial Beach Mayor Paloma Aguirre said threatens the existence of 27,000 residents every single day.
“For decades, the disaster has been characterized by some and maybe even dismissed by others as being about closed beaches or sick surfers, which I think we all can agree are both bad. But this minimizes the problem because it frames it as a health hazard that could be avoided by choosing not to enjoy the coast,” said Peters during the conference. “There’s been a considerable amount of academic research on the contaminants in the water, soil and air, in and around the Tijuana River Valley, that points to a significant public health risk.”
The report reads that high arsenic concentrations have been found in soil samples from the Tijuana River and Estuary (TJRE).
It also highlights that beach closures have seen a significant increase for the past five years, shifting from less than 100 to more than 150 days of closures in Imperial Beach, Silver Strand and Coronado, according to San Diego County Department of Environmental Health and Quality data that spans 2019 to October of last year.
“We truly are in a state of emergency, a state of emergency as far as our economy, as far as public health, and as far as our quality of life. Our communities, Coronado and Imperial Beach, are tourist dependent,” added Aguirre.
Last summer, the San Diego County Board of Supervisors declared a state of emergency regarding the ongoing Tijuana sewage crisis on June 27 following the City of San Diego and Imperial Beach also declaring local emergencies.
That same month Aguirre led a bipartisan delegation to Washington, D.C. in partnership with Mayor John McCann from Chula Vista and Duncan from Coronado, during which they met with congressional leaders, which she said included a very productive conversation with Congressman Darrell Issa (CA-48).
Medical professionals in Imperial Beach have also expressed concern over the health impacts exacerbated during rain events that they say cause an uptick in sickness among patients.
“A qualitative study looking at community perceptions of their environment and the sewage contamination issues demonstrated that the majority of youth living in or near Imperial Beach are “disgusted” with the environmental issues and feel the beaches and water are unsafe,” adds the report.
Aguirre added that the boil advisory last year, following Tropical Storm Hilary, brought 3 billion gallons of sewage and the Jan. 22 storm last month—which affected nearby ranches in the Tijuana River Valley—“brought 14.5 billion gallons of toxic sewage and chemicals contaminating our air and our coastal waters.”
Ranches flood in the Tijuana River Valley following January storm
The University report follows Rep. Issa earlier this month requesting additional information regarding maintenance and management at the South Bay International Wastewater Treatment Plant (SBIWTP), operated by U.S. Section International Boundary & Water Commission (IBWC), in a letter sent to the agency’s Commissioner Dr. Maria Elena Giner.
“We simply cannot overlook IBWC’s failure to oversee the proper maintenance and management of this facility and its unsupported requests for hundreds of millions of dollars in additional funding with no end in sight,” reads the Feb. 9 letter by Rep. Issa. “While it is clear this project requires further investment, additional expenditures must be accompanied by a higher level of accountability to ensure results are delivered to the region.”
Earlier this year, Issa, Peters and other members of Congress also sent U.S. Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro a letter requesting updated information about the effects that cross-border sewage pollution poses for Naval operations and trainings, according to a Jan. 23 letter signed by Representatives Issa, Peters, Juan Vargas (CA-52), Sara Jacobs (CA-53), and Mike Levin (CA-49).
Fighting for solutions continues
Researchers and representatives agree that in order to prevent the ongoing contamination and consequential health and environmental harms, investments by Congress, federal and state agencies are desperately needed.
CEO and board member of the Prebys Foundation, Grant Oliphant who also led the conference Tuesday morning said the SDSU study confirms the extent to which San Diego’s health and community well-being have and continue to be “seriously and actively harmed by years of inaction on this issue.”
“The good news is that it is fixable, and that leaders like Representative Peters and Mayor Aguirre and organizations like SDSU’s School of Public Health are working to make that happen. Their efforts deserve broad support, because public health in our region depends on a robust shared commitment to protecting everyone in every one of our communities from these sorts of preventable harms,” said Oliphant in a statement following the conference.
Requests to President Joe Biden continued this month by local leaders who asked the White House to prioritize and address the ongoing Tijuana River pollution crisis, according to a letter dated Feb. 16 and signed by the delegation Aguirre led last month posted on the City of Imperial Beach website.
Peters said the next funding opportunity is expected in early March.
“I will not stop fighting for the people of Imperial Beach and South San Diego until we get the fixes that are needed and do whatever it takes,” Aguirre said. “It’s not fair that people have to exist in these conditions, having gastrointestinal illnesses constantly.”
